Below is an article that I found written by a fellow collector. I enjoyed reading it and hope you all do too!!!

Les (:->
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Originally written by Dee, aka - Dartingdove from Cardboard Village
re-posted with permission from <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on">Dee</st1:place><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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<o:p>Nascar vs. Other Sports, is Nascar a sport? I think so</o:p>
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I know that some people do not believe that Nascar racing is a sport, To those of us that are die-hard fans it is a lifestyle, But my question is if it is not a sport then why do so many other sports players, coaches and affiliates get involved and more are on the way,
You have Coach Joe Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing), both Roger Staubach & Troy Aikman (Hall of Fame Racing), Terry Bradshaw ( FitzBradshaw Racing)

According to a year-end poll done by a national sports magazine, NASCAR chairman Brian France is the second most powerful man in sports, behind only National Football League commissioner Paul Taglibue.

Sure, <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> is ushering in a new era in NASCAR, what with the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Nextel replacing Winston as the title sponsor, the new schedule, the upcoming race in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mexico</st1:place></st1:country-region> and more rule changes than any of us can keep track of.

Still, it may be something else that has helped NASCAR leap over the other major sports.

Namely, the other major sports.

It wasn't but a scant few years ago that we all were hearing about we were living in the "Golden Age of Sports." ESPN is a household word -- and even the name of a couple of very unfortunate babies.

Countless other sports networks are fighting for our attention -- two dozen or so on "the dish." Bench players are making millions of dollars even before they can legally have their first drink.

Now, it seems like things have finally spun out of control.


The NHL isn't playing, like it used to.


The NBA is doing its best impression of English soccer, complete with hooligans.


Major League Baseball is trying to wiggle out of a steroid scandal that threatens the legitimacy of not only its records, but of the sport itself.


Even Taglibue's NFL is busy wiping egg off its face despite the fact that Randy Moss is throwing it around every chance he gets.

And that's just the past couple of months.

Meanwhile, NASCAR's biggest controversies in 2004 were why fans at <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Talladega</st1:place></st1:City> would throw beer cans at Jeff Gordon and why Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to curse in <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Victory Lane</st1:address></st1:Street>.

Kind of like comparing robbery to a parking ticket.

Ryan Smithson and I were having lunch the other day at the Dawsonville Pool Hall, (yes, that one), when the topic of NASCAR's popularity came up.

More specifically, what is it about this sport that has made it so popular?

Above the cars and the speed and the beer, isn't it really that you can relate to these guys? You know they make money, but you don't know how much.

You know they like a good party, but you rarely hear about them taking it over the line. You see their girlfriends up on the pit boxes every week. You know the names of parents and their kids.

Could it be that NASCAR's marketing machine is that powerful, or that the racing media is that naïve? Perhaps, but ask yourself this:

Can you picture yourself at a frat party doing kegstands with Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

Can you picture Jamie McMurray ringing the doorbell to pick up your daughter?

Can you picture Kasey Kahne or Kyle Busch coming over to mow your lawn?

Now try to picture Barry Bonds, Moss or Ron Artest doing those things.

Didn't think so.<o:p></o:p>

all i got to say is:

NASCAR is not a sport..its a way of life

all i got to say is:

NASCAR is not a sport..its a way of life

Correction...

NASCAR is not ONLY a sport...its ALSO a way of life :amen:

Great read, it goes along with my daughters English paper she wrote this year. This was done by Ashley (Ashley8318)......

Ashley Goedel
October 11, 2006
Classification/Exemplification
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While all sports have a fan base to follow them, NASCAR not only has the fan support but for most of us it’s a way of life. The only time other sports see a fanatical gathering of fans is when the playoffs start. How many times during regular season does one actually see fans get as fanatical of their sport as NASCAR does? Every race in NASCAR is like a playoff for the fans. They plan their vacations, their finances, and their overall schedule by it. So for most it’s not just a sport; it’s a way of life.
If a NASCAR fan’s vacation isn’t to a race, it’s usually planned around an off weekend or off season. Most fans attend at least one race a year and, while some are lucky enough to attend several, some plan their next year vacation around just one. For most of the super speedways there are many different things that take place the week before the race. If you ever watch a race at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Talladega</st1:City></st1:place> or Daytona you will see an infield that is full of campers and motor homes. These fans will spend up to a week experiencing everything that NASCAR has to offer. At the track, fans will get the opportunity to meet other fans that live just as they do and in many cases, these fans have made life long friendships. One track in particular, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bristol</st1:place></st1:City>, the fan base is so strong that it is nearly impossible to find tickets. Tickets here are purchased years in advance and to think about buying a seasonal pass is impossible. These are the only known tickets that have actually been willed to family members.
Finances are always put into consideration for a NASCAR fan, whether it’s going to a race or buying memorabilia of their favorite driver, these attributes can take a heavy
toll on anybody’s pockets. Attending a race can be expensive, with the price of tickets not only varying from track to track, but also vary by where you sit. Unlike most sporting events where the closer you are to the event the more they cost, NASCAR is the complete opposite. Ticket prices at the racetrack start costing more the higher and further away from the track you are. Pit passes may also be purchased which allow fans to walk around the pit area; of course these also vary in price whether they are for a cold or hot pit pass. Fans attending the Daytona 500 will pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for tickets and considering that most attending this race also take into consideration that there are races all week long. This is the first race of the season, and actually starts the Sunday prior to the Daytona 500 with the Bud Shoot Out. Along with that race you have the dual qualifying races on Thursday, the Iroc race and Craftsmen Truck race on Friday, and the Busch race on Saturday. Some, like me, have made “race jars” to save money for a following year’s race. Once fans arrive at the track it’s time to shop. With diecasts starting around $60 and t-shirts and hats around $25, it quickly gets expensive. All of those things don’t have to be bought at a track. They can also be found online or at a NASCAR store such as Dixie Thunder.
With all the memorabilia fans have collected, they have rooms filled with it. My room is completely filled with anything I can find. I have numerous shelves filled with diecasts and many other items. I even have cans of beans with Tony Stewart on them and Brian Vickers Mountain Dew cans and boxes. Fans will also go out of their way and only purchase products endorsed by the drivers’ sponsors, while others will refuse to buy because the product is sponsored by a rival. I use Garnier Fructis shampoo because it’s a sponsor of Brian Vickers.
Saturdays and Sundays you will always find a NASCAR fan glued to either a TV or radio with the race on. Cable TV has made fans lives even better when they introduced the Speed channel. With their televising of qualifying, practices, and the NASCAR shows leading up to the race and the shows that precede the race, these fans have gained a wealth of knowledge. Also the technology of TIVO has made it easier for most to be able to fit all that’s available into their busy schedules.
To all of us, NASCAR is much more than a sport. The roots of NASCAR started out in the backwoods of the southern states, with the redneck fans that truly do live and breathe NASCAR, into a national following that still live and breathe the experience. Fans, for the most part, not only watch the races every weekend, but they completely live the experience all year long. They mourn the loss of it from mid-November until Daytona speed weeks start. This is their spring time, when everything seems to breathe life back into existence, and all is well again with our colors of spring in bloom, green, yellow, blue/yellow, white, black, red, and black and white checkered. These are the only colors that matter to us, for when we see these we know our lives have become whole again.
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Wow 2 great reads!!! I hear this all the time, NASCAR is not a sport, I hate it. Nascar is the ONLY sport I watch. People say..how can turning left all the time be a sport? I say " Could you do it for 5 hours at 195mph non stop?", No bathroom breaks or anything like that? " This usually shuts them up. I also like to throw to these people that NASCAR is the only sport where grown men dont slap each other on the @$$ every time something good happens. LMAO could you picture JR slapping Tony on the @$$ after a win?

i love nascar but dont consider it a sport...however this doesnt degrade nascar...just a matter of my definition

my defintion of a sport is something you do physically in which you physically interact with the opponent...

i dont consider bowling a sport, track a sport, swimming a sport, or nascar a sport...i enjoy 3 of the 4 of them...but i consider them competitions

I say " Could you do it for 5 hours at 195mph non stop?", No bathroom breaks or anything like that? " This usually shuts them up.

I cant knit but knitting isnt a sport....

I cant knit but knitting isnt a sport....

ok you got me there, lol

ok you got me there, lol

:winking0071: just had to come up with something...

Point/Counterpoint: Is NASCAR a sport?
High speeds, risk of death
Erwin McIntosh III
Issue date: 10/11/04 Section: Opinion
In the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the term "sport" as a noun means "physical activity engaged in for fun." Now imagine going around a track with some forty other cars at close to (and more than) 200 mph.

Imagine how hot it gets inside and outside the car as heat rises on the track. Imagine going through this with few restroom breaks. Imagine, for just a second, having to withstand these conditions for 500 laps. Not only do drivers have to withstand heat, they have to have the endurance to power their way around a track and become physical with other cars by bumping them repeatedly, increasing their chance of accidents and death.

Here is a question that one must ask when debating this topic: are driver's athletes? Yes, they are, but not conventional or "ball sport" athletes.

Drivers do not need to be in peak physical condition in comparison to the "ball sport" athletes, but he or she does need to be in shape. No one has ever seen a racecar driver that is overweight. Drivers need to have a keen sense of sight and impeccable hand-eye coordination. Their timing has to be right on or it could mean their lives. Drivers have to train to withstand these conditions in order to survive and be successful.

Drivers are athletes because they have to be in shape to drive not only physically, but mentally as well. They, like any other athlete, have to know their trade very well. Their knowledge about cars, speed and physics are amazing.

In the course of a racing event, a driver has to learn when to draft and when not to draft. For some of those that don't know, drafting is when the driver allows the car in front of them to pull the driver's car along with their own speed.

Drivers also have to know when to go high on the track and when to go low, not only to pass a driver to gain position, but also to avoid death.

In answering the question of drivers being athletes, the question of whether or not racing is a sport has been answered as well.

When thinking about the event of racing, think about all that goes into racing and keep an open mind about what the word "sport" means. The conditions of racing make it more difficult than ball sports.

Take the time to watch a race on television and believe me - it is just as boring as watching baseball, but racing is more than just going around a track or making a bunch of left turns.

Racing is dangerous, physical and calculating. To be successful in the sport of racing one must have high stamina, a great deal of poise and patience, along with a keen sense of time. It is only prudent to mention these things to show how mentally in-shape a driver must be, along with the physical attributes mentioned earlier.

Finally, a driver must be in control of his or her car while all of the aforementioned distractions are happening all around them.

The speed, the danger, the heat, the bumping and the accidents all make racing a sport and the most dangerous one at that.

Conventional sport, no, but a sport nonetheless.


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Couldn't of the it better Dee. Thanks

Mike

All I can say is if curling is considered a sport... then auto racing has to be.

Alex

Since i brought up knitting not being a sport...i find it kinda funny i went on Youtube today looking for a video and one of the top 5 popular videos of the day is this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jYa_rJyG18